The Life Of Frida Kahlo

Due to the extent of her recovery, Frida never resumed her studies. Instead, while she was recuperating, she painted her first piece entitled Self-Portrait from nineteen twenty-six. This began a series of paintings in which she documented the events in her life and her reactions to them. .
             Two years following the accident, Frida began to take part in politics, and looked towards achieving sovereignty for the government-run university and a more democratic Mexican government. In addition, she joined the Communist party because she wanted to be part of a movement that could achieve social change in her own county. Frida started attending political gatherings on a regular basis, positioning her views on Surrealism, the role of the Communist party in developing the revolution, and the place of nationalism in art and politics. It was at this time that Frida became reacquainted with Diego, who was himself a Communist, and who also encouraged her to continue painting. Like Diego, Frida also became a vigorous advocate of purely Mexican and pre-Columbian art. Her paintings are clearly influenced by Mexican culture which becomes evident in her bright use of colours, work with sheet metal instead of a canvas, and adding a combination of realism and symbolism to her work, a style completely new to nineteen thirties art. Her paintings were often small which was quite distinct from the large murals painted during this time. Frida's nationalistic attitude was not just reflected in her art, but also in her wardrobe. She began adopting traditional Mexican outfits consisting of long skirts and dresses. It was this individual style that helped Frida illustrate, not only her patriotic attitude towards her country, but her rejection of the conventional standards of beauty. She felt so strongly about her Mexican heritage, and that was such a part of her identity. What's more, Frida accentuated her facial hair, grooming her eyebrows and mustache with special utensils and penciling them to appear darker, a practice that went against the typical feminine values of women at this time.